State Organization Helping Lupus Patients and Their Families

Sponsored by the State of Georgia

Offering Educational and Awareness Opportunities

Welcome

The Georgia Council on Lupus Education and Awareness (GCLEA) is a state-wide organization that tackles lupus as a public health concern.

Through
state legislation, GCLEA is
tasked
with investigating education and awareness concerning lupus
throughout the state, developing educational material on lupus,
improving patient access to care through the creation of an online
directory of healthcare providers, and making recommendations for
legislative action.

What
Is Lupus?

Lupus
erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease that causes
the immune system to attack one’s body. The disease
is characterized by the inflammation of various
healthy tissues and organs in the body including the
joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels,
and brain. The severity of the disease may vary because no two cases
of lupus are exactly alike.

What
Are the Different Types of Lupus?

Systemic
lupus erythematosus (SLE) is
the type of the
disease that can affect many parts of
the body. SLE, which is the most common form of the disease, is most
commonly characterized by inflammation of the
joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels,
and brain.

Drug-induced
lupus erythematosus, like SLE, can affect many parts of the body.
However, it is caused by an overreaction to certain medications.
Studies have shown that removal of the medication may stop disease
activity. Drugs most
commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are those used to treat
chronic conditions such as seizures, high blood pressure, and
rheumatoid arthritis.

Neonatal
lupus erythematosus occurs when autoantibodies
from a mother living with SLE passively transfers them to her infant.
Like SLE, it can affect many parts of the body including the skin,
liver, and blood. These symptoms
disappear completely after several months and have
no lasting effects.

What
Causes Lupus?

The
causes
of lupus are unknown but are believed
to be
linked
to genetic, environmental, and hormonal factors. In some
families, inherited factors play a role in
a person’s risk of
developing lupus.

Who
Gets Lupus?

Anyone
can have lupus. More than
90 percent of people living with lupus
are women between the ages of 15 and 45. African-American, Hispanic,
Asian, and Native American women are at
greater risk of developing lupus than white women.

In
particular,
African-American women are three times more likely
to get lupus than white women. Men, who make up 10 percent of lupus
patients, often develop the disease before puberty and after the age
of 50.

Is
Lupus Contagious?

Lupus
is
not contagious or infectious and, therefore, cannot
be transmitted to other people.

What
Is a Lupus Flare?

Most
patients experience times when the disease is active or in a flare,
followed by times when the
disease is less active or in remission.
Understanding how to prevent flares and how to treat them when they
do occur helps people with lupus maintain better health.

Is
There a Cure for Lupus?

There
is no cure for lupus. However, there are treatmentsthat
can help prevent flares, treat symptoms, and reduce organ damage.

Is
Lupus Fatal?

Many
men
and women live long, productive lives with
lupus. It is fatal for some people. It depends
on the severity of the disease, how
the body responds to treatments, and other factors. Infections,
cardiovascular
disease, and kidney failure are common complications
and the most common causes of death in people with lupus.